New Delhi: The Bombay High Court on December 11 disposed of a petition filed by Father Frazer Mascarehas, a former principal of the St. Xavier College who sought to clear the name of Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon case who died while being in judicial custody in 2021, from the observation made by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court against him.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Mihir Desai argued that the NIA’s court findings ‘besmirched’ Swamy’s work for tribals and human right and violates his right to reputation under article 21. The NIA’s represented by ASG Anil Singh and special counsel Chintan Shah however objected to the maintainability of the petition arguing that the pleas has become infructuous and could not be amended to introduce new causes of action.
Accepting the objection, the division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Ranjirsinha Bhonsale disposed of the petition. The bench however granted liberty to petitioner to file a fresh petition, challenging magisterial inquiry report that ruled out any foul play in Swamy’s death. The petition was initially filed before the court in December 2021.
Earlier, the court was informed that the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission in May this year had accepted the inquiry report which concluded that there was no foul play or medical negligence involved in Swamy’s death and he died due to septicaemia from lobar pneumonia, aggravated by age and existing ailments including Parkinson’s.
Notably, the NIA in its affidavit, maintained that although the trial abated upon Swamy’s death, the allegations remain and cannot be expunged under the guise of article 21. The agency in its submission before the court in September had strongly objected to the petition arguing that the trial court had already found evidence against Swamy.
The agency in its submission had also expressed shock over the petitioner demand to clear Swamy’s name adding that his arrest was carried out after following due procedure established by law and on the basis of sufficient evidence linking him to CPI (Maoist) activities. The agency had further argued that allowing such petitions could undermine the entire legal process.
Stan Swamy was arrested by the NIA in October 2020 in connection with the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon case. The case pertains to an event called ‘Elgar Parishad’ organised at Shaniwar Wada of Pune on December 31, 2017. Inflammatory speeches were made at the conference which ultimately led to violence on the next day at Bhima-Koregaon village, according to the investigative agency.
A total of 16 people, were arrested in connection with the case including Swamy who was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Investigative agencies claimed to recover incriminating documents and letters from the devices of some of the accused, tying their links with the banned Maoist group.
Following his arrest, Swamy was remanded to judicial custody at Taloja Central Jail. His bail petition was rejected by the NIA court which cited ‘Prima Facie’ evidence against him. Swamy died in July 2021, almost a month after being shifted to a Mumbai hospital, following contracting Covid-19 infection.
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